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Saskatchewan Lawyer News

Judge to hand decision on fatal hit and run February yet

Robert Duane Barisoff will have to wait a little longer to know how much time he will be spending in jail after he submitted a guilty plea to offences resulting to Kelton Desnomie's death.

The judge had decided to reserve his decision for February after hearing sentencing submissions of both the Crown and the defence.

Court heard that Barisoff was driving a jeep when he fatally hit an intoxicated Desnomie.

He stopped and someone went down to check on Desnomie. However, Barisoff drove off without checking or assisting the victim despite the protest of his companion.

Even though he left, Barisoff still surrendered and confessed to the police on the same day.

Barisoff was not drunk nor speeding but the Crown is asking that he be jailed for about a year and be banned from driving for two years because he had left the scene without any concern for Desnomie, who was 18 at the time of his death.

Regina lawyer Jeremy Ellergodt, Barisoff's defence counsel, said that his client had panicked which was why he left but he still regretted what he did.

The lawyer added that Barisoff only deserves a three-month jail stay and a driving ban of one year citing his client's surrender and confession.

Judge finds military veteran not criminally liable for bomb threat

Posted Nov 19, 2014 on cjme.com

Timothy Steven Harris, a military veteran, was found to have no criminal responsibility in the email that he sent to social workers which stated "there is a bomb in the building."

Following the receipt of the email, the building which houses social services was emptied of employees while police searched for the bomb mentioned in Harris' email. However, they found nothing.

Harris testified that he had mistakenly worded his email. That he thought he wrote "the bomb is in the building," the word bomb in reference to himself and the word building referring to his growing issue with the social services.

The judge believed in the mental defence mounted by Jane Basinski, a defence lawyer in Saskatoon, because Harris is suffering from schizophrenia.

Harris admitted that he had not taken any medication at the time he penned the email.

The veteran sent the email because he got miffed with the social services' non-response to his earlier emails inquiring why he was not reminded of his annual review.

Basinski is asking for an absolute discharge for Harris while the Crown attorney wants conditions set to keep the public safe.

The review board will make a decision after a hearing to be held within a month and a half.

Passport cancellation for any Canadian proven to have joined extremist groups

Posted Sep 20, 2014 on ottawacitizen.com

Several Canadians have had their passports invalidated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) after it was proven that they have gone to Syria, Iraq and other volatile areas to join extremists groups.

This was confirmed by Chris Alexander, the minister for Citizenship and Immigration, who added that Canadians, who are still in the country but are proven to have intentions of travelling abroad to fight for extremist groups, will also get their passports cancelled.

The move is part of Canada and its allies' plans to hamper the international operations of extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

With a revoked passport, Canadians fighting for extremist groups will be stuck in either Syria or Iraq as they will no longer be allowed to travel back to Canada. They could also not go anywhere else without a passport.

Although Canada may not be a major source of foreign fighters for extremist groups, the Canadian government has given the concern priority, with the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service heading the matter.

The CIC, to which Passport Canada belongs, has been active in the operation by cancelling the passports but only after they received solid evidence.

Alexander said that the department can do so based on a regulation that allows an official to invalidate the passport of a Canadian if there is proof that their intention of travelling abroad is to participate in a criminal act.

A new citizenship law also gave the government authority to cancel the passports of dual citizens following a terrorism conviction.

This is well and good as aside from ensuring the country's security, the government is also making sure that Canada's name will not be tainted by the acts of these people.

15YO gets 3-year sentence for series of stabbings

Posted Aug 07, 2014 on www.thestarphoenix.com

A 15-year-old boy was meted with a three-year custodial sentence after admitting to stabbing four people in a rampage at a mall in Regina.

However, the teenager, whose identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has only two years and six months to serve after the judge credited him with time spent in remand.

He has to serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody before he can be released into the community under supervision.

Court heard that the youth purposely went to the mall knowing it would be populated and take out his anger on the people there because he believed his girlfriend left him.

Three of the youth's four victims had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.

Court also heard that the incident traumatized not only the victims but also those who were present at that time.

Canada Lawyer News

No other option but to sue - Calgary lawyer

Posted Jan 20, 2016 on calgary.ctvnews.ca

Jeff Kahane, a lawyer in Calgary, said that there is no other option for disgruntled clients but to file a lawsuit against contractors who have abandoned them.

The Calgary General Contractors (CGC) has closed shop leaving several unfinished projects in its wake and putting house owners who have contracted them to renovate their homes at a disadvantage as they have already made payments.

In a statement sent to CTV News, a lawyer for CGC said that the contractor tried to stay afloat but it eventually had to close as a result of the declining economy.

Kahane said that in such situation, clients have no other choice but to file a lawsuit against the contractor.

Filing such a case would be worth it that is if the company has any assets left or any more collectibles.

Kahane advised that for renovations, it would be better to pay as work is done rather than paying in advance.

Pastor nets jail for possessing child pornography

Posted Jun 18, 2015 on www.edmontonsun.com

Richard John Docekal, who used to be a pastor in Edmonton, will be spending six months in jail after he submitted a guilty plea to possession of child pornography.

The 59-year-old Docekal admitted to having a large collection of pornographic materials of drawings in cartoons depicting children having sexual relations with their parents.

Ed O'Neill, a lawyer in Edmonton defending for the disgraced pastor, said that his client has regretted his misdeed which resulted to him no longer serving as a pastor.

Docekal's marriage also became a casualty of his unsavory hobby and he was also subjected to public humiliation after his arrest landed on the front pages of the news, said the lawyer.

The pastor's penchant for the pornographic materials came to light after the woman with whom he had an affair blew the whistle on him.

Woman gets conditional sentence for faking own abduction

Posted Jun 17, 2015 on www.edmontonsun.com

Caitlin Rose Pare will be spending four months under house arrest as part of her one year conditional sentence after she submitted a guilty plea to public mischief.

The 25-year-old Pare was charged after she admitted to faking her own abduction to collect money from her family and boyfriend to pay off a drug debt.

Pare, who has a three-year-old daughter, got hooked on drugs after she became addicted to painkillers which were prescribed for her back injury.

After serving her conditional sentence, Pare will be made to undergo probation for a year and a half.

Cocaine turns out to be a dud

Posted Apr 03, 2015 on www.therecord.com

A drug charge against Shane Achilles was withdrawn after a powder seized from him and thought to be cocaine turned out to be Metamucil, a laxative.

With that, Achilles is set to get back about $2,000 that police seized from him believing the money was earned in a drug deal.

However, Achilles was not off the hook as he admitted to evading police who chased him. He also violated traffic rules in the process.

He submitted a guilty plea to driving while disqualified and failing to stop for police.

He received a 105 day-jail sentence and a three-year driving ban.

Kitchener criminal lawyer Hal Mattson, who defended for Achilles, said his client had an unsavory upbringing having been brought up by a single mother, who moved around Ontario a lot. Afterwards, he mostly grew up on the streets.

He had gone clean about five years ago but went back to using drugs last year.

Judge to decide in April whether or not to admit statement made to undercover cop

Posted Mar 13, 2015 on www.timescolonist.com

Bradley Streiling will have to wait until April when the judge decides whether or not to admit as evidence against him a statement that he made to an undercover police.